By Georgia Maloney
Communications Intern

Ralph Guldahl was a golfer who played with big names like Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Byron Nelson. Although he beat these great golf legends on many occasions, his name is not usually grouped with theirs when referring to the grandfathers of professional golf. Guldahl’s interesting professional golf career includes 16 PGA TOUR victories, as well as time spent as a carpenter and used car salesman- all in a 10-year period. Guldahl was on his gamebetween 1936 and 1939, but then suddenly hit a wall after 1940, and never won another tournament. 

Guldahl began playing professional golf tournaments in the early 1930’s at the young age of 20, and won two events before missing a close putt at the 1933 U.S. Open prompted him to put his golf career on hold. Guldahl did odd jobs such as carpentry and selling used cars before he was asked to design a nine-hole golf course. 

The project prompted Guldahl to play again, so in 1936 he returned to professional golf tournaments and his career quickly took off. Not long after his return, Guldahl won his first Western Open, which at the time was considered to be a major.

Guldahl’s best years were 1937 and 1938. In 1937, he repeated as the Western Open Champion and then went on to win the U.S. Open at Oakland Hills, where he set a championship record that remained unbroken for 11 years. He was in sight of the green jacket that year as well, but settled for second after giving up a four-stroke lead when he shot a five and six on Nos. 12 and 13, respectively. 

In 1938, Guldahl became the only golfer to win both the U.S. Open and Western Open two years straight. He came in second once again at The Masters, but was finally rewarded with a green jacket in 1939 when he set an Augusta National scoring record that wasn’t broken until 1953. Guldahl’s success then slowed in 1940, and he decided to leave the TOUR in 1942.

Those who played alongside Guldahl on the TOUR said that he had a remarkable ability to hit balls very straight and control his distances. He was known on the TOUR for being slow, methodical and showing no emotion.  Even though he had a relatively short golf career, Guldahl accomplished more than many golfers who play for a lifetime.